poetry

Treasure mined in darkness

/ Joy Lenton / 4 Comments

Christmas may be over for another year; food supplies begin to deplete along with our flagging energy and enthusiasm.

Yet hope, love and grace are evergreen ~ lingering eternally in our hearts even through the darkest days.

We may clear away the debris of celebrations but we hang on to memories we have made.

Think of Love come down to earth and how that impacts the everyday with awe and wonder.

Admire our gifts and consider the greatest Gift ever given to us ~ our Lord Jesus Christ.

And we may ponder the worth and value of the gifts we have been given by God over the last year and beyond.

For a gift may come wrapped in sadness and sorrow, problems and pain, suffering and shame.

It can take some searching to see the light shining through the darkness.

Appreciate grace glimmers in hard places.

Such a gift came to me and it took me many years to receive, unwrap and appreciate its worth.

‘Hidden Depths’

It can be really hard

to understand

how weakness and fragility

that render lives

dependent, still and slow

may be gifts

from God’s right hand

that He, in infinite mystery

has chosen to bestow

And yet there lingers

surprising nuggets of His grace

glinting bright in dark

circumstance and place

we deem rightly painful, sad;

though from His loving fingers

we can trace joy and hope

rising through all that seems

heavy weighted-down and bad

For those who cling

desperate closer toThe Vine

can find strength beyond measure

as they seek to bring

their lives as daily offering

found in their struggle,

pain and suffering, it can

yield unexpected treasure

of hidden depths to mine

©JoyLenton2013

“I will give you the treasures of darkness, riches stored in secret places, so that you may know that I am the Lord, the God of Israel, who summons you by name.” ~ Isaiah 45:3

This poem links with the theme of the blog post ‘When a gift doesn’t look like one’ that I wrote as a guest post on my writer friend James Prescott’s site. You can click here to read it.

Reaching out

/ Joy Lenton / 6 Comments

This is a season for reaching out.

Making quality time for loved ones, family and friends.

Offering gifts, help and encouragement.

Creating space to meet with our Creator-God.

Seeking to engage our finite minds and lives with the Infinite One ~ our Lord Jesus Christ.

Preparing hearts and homes to receive Him anew.

As the Advent season of watching and waiting, reaching out and receiving draws to its glorious ending, I reach out to you with gratitude for all God has done in my life this year.

I am particularly thankful for the many new friendships I have made in the writing community especially.

Thank you for being here and sharing the poetic journey with me. I have really appreciated your company and comments.

And as I take a brief break to recharge my batteries and enjoy having time to read and reflect more, I pray that you may you have a truly blessed and hope-filled Happy Christmas!

‘Reaching out’

There’s a reaching out

across time and eternity

as Love comes down

to embrace our fallen humanity

and spill the fragrance, sweet savour

of God’s holy favour

There’s a whisper, a shout,

an angelic proclamation

as the Prince of Peace

invades every tribe and nation

with the news of His birth

echoing throughout earth

There’s a longing, a sigh,

in hearts heavy and weary

for a way to break free

from days hard and dreary,

with scattered hopes and dreams

failed plans and schemes

There’s a wonder, a cry

and recognition dawning

that this baby, Christ-child

brings us a resurrection morning

of forgiveness, mercy and healing

seen in God’s grace all revealing

©JoyLenton2013

Making connection

/ Joy Lenton / 16 Comments

It’s often hard to analyse the creative process.

There are probably as many reasons to write as there are writers.

In thinking about why I write, several ideas sprang to mind.

The most important one for me is that I sense God is asking me to express myself this way, and all the more the longer I live.

Other reasons?

Well… here are a few…in no particular order of importance.

1) I just can’t help myself ~ It’s an urge deep within that cries out to be addressed and cannot be ignored.

2) I love to make connection points with others ~ soul to soul ~ to offer encouragement, support and hope.

3) It makes me come alive on the inside ~ enables me to feel free in a life that’s otherwise limited and constrained by illness.

4) To leave a heritage ~ a footprint in the sands of time with memories and memoir.

5) To communicate my voice and viewpoint ~ to hear and be heard.

6) In the process I discover more of who I am and what makes me tick ~ it reveals all that previously lay hidden.

7) It makes me listen more closely to God and observe the world around me with greater clarity.

8) To share my story as part of God’s greater narrative ~ give testimony to His goodness and grace.

9) I get to make friends with like-minded people in the supportive writing and blogging community in which I move.

10) Because it is a world of beauty, love and joy I can share in and be a small part of.

No more ado..here’s a poem to express much of what I feel about making a connection through the medium of words…

“Tears are words that need to be written” ~ Paul Coelho

‘I write’

I write..

mainly poetry

because of its great ability

to connect succinctly

communicating deep and whole

engaging soul to soul

and because, for better or for worse,

my life has been circumscribed by verse

I write..

because I cannot

resist the tug and urge

of emotions pressing to be heard

as they flood and surge within me

to spill and splurge their way

upon the printed page

with passion, joy or rage

I write..

for an audience of One

who gifts me from above

courtesy of His grace and love

with a calling to reveal and share

memories, life and story

threaded with hope and mercy

to encourage those in need

I write..

because I desire

to express myself like this

be it creative agony or bliss

and find catharsis in release

of feelings that are healing

in enabling seeds of recognition to be sown

to show others they are not alone

©JoyLenton2013

“Always be a poet, even in prose” ~ Charles Baudelaire

I am grateful to Jeff Goins and Bryan Hutchinson for inspiring this post.

You can stop by Jeff’s blog to find out why others like to write too.

Weight of glory

/ Joy Lenton / 8 Comments

One of the most amazing things about the Christmas story is how everyday people are invited in to share the special occasion.

So few were even aware of the Messiah’s arrival or had paid attention to the signs along the way.

A privileged few were insiders and participants in the greatest story ever told ~ God come to earth to take on our full humanity.

These bystanders may have felt the weight of glory surrounding them as angels sang and heaven rejoiced.

Been overwhelmed by it all.

Yet even they were strangers to the full implication of the Incarnation.

How Jesus would become sin for us on the cross.

Give His life as a ransom for many.

Die the death we deserved that we may inherit His eternal life to come.

This year, as we read the familiar Bible passages, see a school nativity perhaps or watch a film on it, let’s try to see it as though for the very first time.

Allow ourselves to be awed.

Awaken to wonder.

Feel the weight of glory.

‘Incarnate’

Divine conception orchestrated in the holding-space

of a virgin’s womb cum meeting-place twixt

heaven and earth ~ signalling our Saviour’s birth

Mystery deep, sublime, beats beneath

the rhythm of time, now seeping inexorably

between all that was, is now and will be

So human days and ways shift into line

with plans of aeons past colliding as history,

present, and future now subsiding as one

to meet and greet Christ-child ~ Mary’s son

How can this be?

An infant meek and warm, just barely born,

should bear the weight of glory now

and see it cast aside

for a crown of thorns, somehow

No inkling yet as befuddled shepherds

struggle into stable bleak, forlorn,

with countenance of joy and

hope spread on their faces,

jostle reverently around for front-row

seat of places in this Nativity

where grace and angels meet

on Holy ground

And wise men travelled from afar

guided by a bright and beckoning star

to see the One prophets had foretold

and bring Him gifts ~ myrrh, frankincense and gold

Here, cradled in a cattle stall

lay a babe ~ the King and Lord of all

providing reason for us to celebrate

the birth of our Saviour Incarnate

©JoyLenton2013

Let us worship Him

/ Joy Lenton / 8 Comments

Advent is a season for contemplation, reverence and awe as we consider all that God has done for us in Christ.

The Christ-child brings hope and light in our darkness.

We recognise the importance of His coming to earth.

We offer our gratitude, worship and praise to our Lord and Saviour.

I have been thinking about the meaning of worship recently and the poem below is an attempt to hone in on the essence of it for me.

As we seek to realise and express the wonder, you are very welcome to join in the conversation and add your own thoughts here.

“It is in the process of being worshipped that God communicates His presence to men” ~ C.S. Lewis

Worship Is…

Bending of mind, will, heart and knee in supplication

to God in recognition of all we have and all we can be

Raising of voices, lifting of hands, heart and head to His call,

lowering of our own goals unless they’re in tune

with the will of the One who is sovereign over all

Making time to spend in His word, by His side,

learning to sit still, to listen, rest and abide

Seeking God’s face, not His hands, His Presence, not His presents,

His heart, will and voice, as we give thanks and rejoice

Wonder and awe at all He is, has done, created and made,

how much He loves, gives, restores and saves

Being aware of Who we approach in prayer, words and song

as we give due reverence to the Holy One

Going wherever He leads and calls with prompt obedience and speed,

relying on His supply, provision and help for our every need

Knowing He is Father, Comforter, Helper, and our greatest Friend,

spending these days on earth with Him unto eternity without end

©JoyLenton2013

“To worship is to quicken the conscience by the holiness of God, to feed the mind with the truth of God, to purge the imagination by the beauty of God, to open the heart to the love of God, to devote the will to the purpose of God” ~ William Temple

 I’m exploring more of what worship means to me, and how my perceptions have changed over the years, on my writer friend, Josh Collin’s site where I’m delighted to be guest posting this week.

You can click here to read the full post.

Here lies mystery

/ Joy Lenton / 17 Comments

I’m trying to consciously make way for the Christ-child in my heart and life during this Advent season as I ponder the marvel and mystery of it all.

There is much we fail to fully comprehend.

So much that is infinite Divine mystery combined with human history.

Though the salient truth hits home time after time :He is here. Our Saviour is born. Christ has come.

The waiting is over.

Prophecy and history combine in the coming of the anticipated Messiah ~ our Lord Jesus Christ.

And that is all we really need to know, believe and receive for God to bring transformation to our lives.

So I am pondering these things in this last #fiveminutefriday post for 2013.

This week’s prompt is:‘Reflect’

START…

‘Here lies mystery’

Here lies mystery…

as Mary-like we ponder

with increasing awe and wonder

how the Lord of all history

enters our fallen humanity

Our God contracted to a span

incomprehensibly made man

taking on our earthly frame

as He would take on our sin and shame

Here lies mystery…

to consider and reflect on

as we enter the Advent season

preparing to celebrate

with mind and heart

all that Christmas

is intended to be

as God imparts a sense

of His great majesty

Here lies mystery…

deep, wide and long

as a sweet saving song

is sung by angels

in a heavenly throng

and shepherds awaken

as they hear and

awe-struck, terrified,

trembling, draw near

Here lies mystery…

as our lives are steeped

in everyday, ordinary,

and we feel replete

until we see we are

drained of fullness, incomplete,

before the Christ-child

so mild and lowly

offers His gift to all mankind

of salvation pure and holy

©JoyLenton2013

 STOP. (And I confess to having gone over time with this one)

Linking here, a little later than usual,  with Lisa-Jo Baker and all the other  brave ‘flying by the seat of our pants without worrying about perfection’ writers. You are very welcome and warmly invited to join in.

Rays of grace

/ Joy Lenton / 14 Comments

When our eyes are open to God’s work in our lives, we can see glory in the gritty reality of ordinary.

Have days made dazzling by His grace.

Gain hope and encouragement from seeing His hand upon our lives.

Find that our vision expands exponentially the more we are attuned to seeing the supernatural and extraordinary in the everyday.

Observe touches of God’s loving ways filling the commonplace with potential and promise.

As I have attempted to look with deliberation at these things, my heart is filled with wonder, gratitude and praise.

Days remain challenging.

There is struggle and pain, sickness and sadness fighting to control us.

But God…

He is always here to offer hope, help, strength and encouragement.

May your heart also beat thankful, swell with awe and gratitude for all the myriad ways He leaves a mark of grace on lives thirsty for His Presence.

‘Fiery rays’

It began…

with lack of rush or hurry

deceptively slight and slow

as barely a hint of maiden-blush pink

provided a tint to tinge edges

of clouds dancing fluffy, low

to brush rooftops and chimneys

with apparent ease

But then…

within the blink of an eye

as I observed with awed

and rooted gaze

the sky lit up in fiery

rays of scarlet-red bleeding

into toasted tangerine and gold

a veritable panoply of praise

very soon took hold

And I…

watched rapturous, sore-amazed

with wonder in my head as God

poured glory Hallelujah out upon

this familiar place I trod

in bygone healthier days

now wreathed in holy blaze

as earth was put to bed

©JoyLenton2013

“Earth’s crammed with heaven ~ and every common bush afire with God” ~ Elizabeth Barrett Browning

Linking here with Jennifer for #TellHisStory where we seek to celebrate God’s work in our lives

And with Mel for Essential Fridays link up

New arrival

/ Joy Lenton / 4 Comments

Like most families, we are excited to welcome a new arrival. Our first grandchild arrived only a couple of days ago.

And I have been inspired to pen a poem in honour of his birth.

He has already had one dedicated to him in the womb on ‘Words of Joy’.

This new life will bring total change and transformation to that of his parents.

There is serious adjustment to be made to become a family rather than a couple.

Nine months have been spent eagerly anticipating this moment.

Yet nothing  fully prepares you to meet and greet a baby into your world.

This is life of their life. Flesh of their flesh. And a unique and special person all in his own right.

Part of our family and a new member of the family of God.

Each child is created and formed in the womb by His mighty hand.

To be celebrated. Enjoyed. Loved. Nurtured and protected.

Welcome, little one! We are delighted to celebrate your safe arrival and look forward to getting to know you.

‘Arrival’

You arrive ~

with eyes screwed tight

against sound and sight

until you brave and blink

your way

into the brightness

of the light

Discerning

in the noise around

that dear, familiar sound

of voices

who have been near

accompanying you on

your journey here

For nine long months

you floated in

a darker

more enclosing space,

now limbs flex freely

within

a very different place

And arms reach out

to circle you about

with safe protection

as you snuggle close

to those who love you most

and whose lives

you share

Falling back to slumber deep

after nuzzling to be fed

you rest and sleep

growing strong inside

for all the things you’ll need

to do in days stretching

long ahead

©JoyLenton2013

#mondaymusings ~ Change

Flight into freedom

/ Joy Lenton / 8 Comments

When pain presses in hard we find ourselves longing for freedom.

Chained to ground.

Desperate to escape the shackles.

Looking for a way to live lightly and freely.

Get beyond the everyday struggles.

Seeking goodness. Seeking grace. Seeking God’s face.

Longing for our eternal home.

‘Flying free’

I want to fly free

from all that keeps me

in captivity,

all that imprisons a frail body

held fast and earthbound.

To move with the flow and embrace

Holy Spirit’s current of grace.

Soar above the ground

above all circumstance and place,

all sound and sight

of fallen humanity

into a space

where You dwell

and all is Light.

Become as bird, eagle borne

given strength to flee

and rise above this earthly frame

tied down, weighted fast

with sickness, sin and shame.

Fly into Love’s fragrant air

breathe deep and easy,

no pain or suffering anywhere.

With mind, body, spirit as one

stretch out to reach glorious Son,

feel heat of His radiant rays

filling all moments, hours and days.

Dance to the beat of His song

of freedom beckoning now

whispering softly

 urging me on.

One day I will truly fly

arise and drift beyond

these mortal skies

at last.

©JoyLenton2013

“But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary; they will walk and not be faint” ~ Isaiah 40:31

Linking here with Lisa-Jo Baker for Five Minute Friday. This week’s prompt is:‘Fly’  You are warmly invited and welcome to join in.

On a day like this

/ Joy Lenton / 12 Comments

Each new day holds hope and potential, promise and purpose to be revealed.

Each day is gift and blessing to unfold.

Only some days feel heavy and weighty.

Time disappears and nothing gets done.

Moments slip away like sand.

I have many days like that with M.E when symptoms are worse.

All that can be done is to ‘go with the flow’, be it turgid and slow.

The poem below was written on such a day as this.

‘This day’

This is a day for sheltered darkness ~

windows closed tight ‘gainst sound and sight

curtains shielding all piercing light,

weary frame resting in the bed

trying to still restless thoughts in my head,

feeling weak, exhausted and drained

in a body racked with pulsating pain

as I wonder ~ with some despair ~

if this pain will ever cease or disappear.

And I sense Holy Spirit’s soft caress

in my heart as He draws near

to impart wisdom in the way He does best.

For He can calm and still every storm

bring comfort to all who are lost or forlorn,

bring hope, joy and peace again

to heart, mind and body

made heavy with pain.

All God is asking of me today

is to sink grateful, restful

into His loving embrace

and drink deep draughts

of His sustaining grace,

trust and believe for healing

in days yet to come

while He keeps revealing

strength to endure

this particular one.

©JoyLenton2013

These seasons of pain, stress, strain and disease literally drive us to our knees and make us cry out to God for help and relief.

They are what shape and make us even as they seem to break us.

God knows. He hears our unspoken fears. Sees tears shed and fall and captures them all. Nothing gets past Him.

And when it feels like we cannot go on a minute longer, there is grace given to endure and perseverance to make us stronger than we were before.

Christ-like character is honed in the furnace of affliction and deep spiritual work takes place within.

We can take heart as the heat and flames lick ever closer, knowing our God is in the midst of them with us and will bring us out the other side ~ with ash and soot clinging to our frame maybe ~ but with a deeper dependence on His grace and mercy.

********

Day 31 of 31 days of #poetryforthesoul ~ Thank you for accompanying me on this journey, even if it has taken longer than anticipated! I hope you have enjoyed the variety offered.

And if you are new here, do feel free to check out previous posts. If you have a favourite please let me know as it may find its way into a future anthology. Thanks! I really appreciate you stopping by.